California Public Employees Retirement System Increases Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• CalPERS increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 8.9% in the first quarter, buying 19,650 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 241,412 shares worth about $44 million.
• Insiders were net sellers over the past three months, including CEO Laura Alber and EVP Karalyn Yearout, with total insider sales amounting to 36,634 shares valued at about $6.8 million.
• Williams-Sonoma posted solid quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, and it also declared a $0.76 quarterly dividend. Analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $212.65.

California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 8.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 241,412 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 19,650 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.20% of Williams-Sonoma worth $44,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 147 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,878 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 10,438 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,864,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 3,564 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $3,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 923,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $184,704,800. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total transaction of $254,080.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,717 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,962,117.33. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 36,634 shares of company stock worth $6,812,283. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WSM. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Argus set a $230.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $212.65.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $223.96 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $211.81 and a 200 day moving average of $201.64. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $165.51 and a 1-year high of $244.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.37 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.49.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.04%.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

Williams‑Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi‑brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher‑end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.

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